British PM stunned by pill-popping question

The BBC faced a rash of criticism yesterday after one of its interviewers asked Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown if he took pills and prescription painkillers.

British PM stunned by pill-popping question

The BBC faced a rash of criticism yesterday after one of its interviewers asked Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown if he took pills and prescription painkillers.

In a television interview, one of the BBC's politics presenters told Brown that if he were an American president, a lot more would be known about his medical history.

"Let me ask you about something else which everybody has been talking about," interviewer Andrew Marr said on Sunday.

"...A lot of people in this country use prescription painkillers and pills to help them get through. Are you one of those people?"

Inappropriate

An irritated Brown tried to shrug off the question, saying he did not think it was appropriate, but Marr was persistent.

"It's a fair question, I think," he insisted.

Brown did not answer the question but spoke about the pain he had endured since losing his sight in one eye and having impaired vision in the other due to a boyhood rugby accident.

"Although I have problems with my eyes and it has been very difficult over the years, I think people understand that you can do a job and you can work hard," Brown said, his tone tetchy.

"I think it would be a terrible, terrible indictment of our political system if you thought that because someone had this medical issue, they couldn't do the job."

Downing Street was angered by Marr's questioning, which they said was drawn from gossip and innuendo on right-wing blogs.
u00a0
Rumours about the prime minister's health had already been dismissed as baseless in recent weeks, officials said.